The Authority was created in 1967 by an Interstate Compact to plan, develop, build, finance and operate a balanced regional transportation system in the National Capital area. Construction of the Metrorail system began in 1969. Four area bus systems were acquired in 1973. The first phase of Metrorail began operation in 1976. The final leg of the original 103-mile rail network was completed in early 2001. Today, there are 86 Metro stations in service within a 106.3 mile network.
Metrorail and Metrobus serve a population of 3.5 million within a 1,500 square-mile area. The transit zone consists of the District of Columbia, the suburban Maryland counties of Montgomery and Prince George's and the Northern Virginia counties of Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church. Overall, 42 percent of those working in the center core Washington and parts of Arlington County use mass transit.
Metro and the federal government are partners in transportation. Thirty-five Metrorail stations serve federal facilities and nearly half of Metro's peak period commuters are federal employees. Since WMATA's inception, the federal government has contributed 65 percent of the capital costs. Fares and other revenue fund 57.6 percent of the daily operations while state and local governments fund the remaining 42.4 percent.
[WMATA Facts, www.wmata.com]